Ricin Letter Sent to Mayor Bloomberg

Someone angry about the push for stricter gun laws sent a letter believed to be tainted with ricin to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, says the NYPD. Police think the same person also sent a ricin letter to the DC headquarters of a group that Bloomberg helps run called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, reports the New York Times. The New York City letter addressed to Bloomberg arrived Friday but never got to the mayor after being opened at a city mail facility. Members of the NYPD who later examined it had minor symptoms that have since eased.

“The writer, in letters, threatened Mayor Bloomberg, with references to the debate on gun laws,” says an NYPD spokesperson. No symptoms were reported in Washington after the letter there was opened over the weekend, reports AP. Preliminary tests turned up traces of ricin in the anonymous letters, and more thorough testing is underway. The FBI has joined the investigation. Bloomberg has emerged as one of the most vocal advocates of tougher gun laws in the wake of the Newtown shooting. (More Michael Bloomberg stories.)